These are early days yet, but captaincy is bringing out the best in Shahid Afridi. He has retained the willingness to attack but entrusted with the responsibility of shepherding a young team, has weeded out the risks. Without having to heave across the line, at least until he gets set, Afridi once again showed he has the range to score at enviable pace.
Having collared Sri Lanka's attack in more trying conditions, Afridi barely broke a sweat today. With Umar Akmal already in the groove when he entered in the 29th over, Afridi warmed up to the task, working the spinners around for a couple of overs. He flexed his muscles in the 32nd, lofting Suhrawadi Shuvo over long on for six, and cashing in on the over-compensation by pulling for four. There were two strokes of luck soon after: an inside edge missed the stumps, and a skier was dropped by Mashrafe Mortaza. After that, however, Afridi unleashed his full range and Pakistan accelerated at a ridiculous rate.
An extra-cover drive, a tickle and a whiplashed cut off Mortaza gave Bangladesh a trailer of what was to follow. After reaching his fifty in the 41st over, Afridi plundered 39 off 10 balls, with eight fours and a six, off Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasab and Shafiul Islam. The two batsmen had been tied on 41 at the end of the 39th over; five overs later, Umar had reached a steady fifty, while his captain was three short of a hundred.
In the 46th over, Afridi helped Razzak to fine leg to reach 100, off 53 balls, and in the same over he cut for four more before finishing off with a loft over long on for his 271st six - the most by any batsman in ODI history. He smashed another length offering from Shafiul for No. 272 and stole one more four before his one-handed pull landed in the hands of square leg. Thanks to Afridi assault, Pakistan raised their biggest score in ODIs, breaking a 13-year old record, set on a day when the same man batted for the first time in international cricket. On that day, he had also set the still standing record for the fastest ODI-ton. The new version of Afridi may not be able to better that particular record, but is far more valuable for Pakistan.